mr. kenneth williams science illustration and …. kenneth williams science illustration and graphic...

Drawing Goats in the FieldMr. Kenneth Williams

Science Illustration and Graphic Design

IntroductionOutdoor sketching is fun and an interesting way to observe and note goat behavior. Sketching from live,

moving animals can be a challenge but with the proper equipment and a few helpful tips you can enjoy many hours drawing goats, other animals and their environments. The suggestions given here are from my own experience and personal preferences. Over time you will adopt or develop your own ways of drawing and will chose the drawing tools that help you best express your personal creative vision.

Art Materials for the FieldPaper

The kind of paper used depends on the media chosen for sketching. Most of us will use a dry media such as a pencil, pen or crayon.

For dry media, a bound sketchbook is most convenient. The hard back provides a stable surface to draw upon. Any size is suitable although a portable size is most useful from 3.5 x 5 inches up to 11 x 16 inches or larger.

Useful papers include watercolor papers, sketchbook pads of varying weights or smooth or vellum bristol board.

Toned paper sketchbooks are particularly useful when sketching outdoors because the sun does not reflect off the paper into your eyes as much as white papers can do. Glare can be more of a problem than is often assumed. Also, colored paper provides a medium tone for drawings, allowing the artist to draw only the shadows and highlights, and so speed the sketching process. Toned paper

Tan papers are best for warm, sunny or earthy moods. Warm blacks, sanguine, sepia, tans, browns, yellow ochre and other warm colors work harmoniously for sketching in monochrome or limited pallets.

White works for the highlights. Cream papers are similar to tan and well suited to outdoor subjects.

Grey papers can enhance the mood for rainy days, grey stone architecture, or to add an overall cool tone to the sketch such as that found in shade or deep forest. It also works well for portraiture of people and animals depicted in a quiet or moody atmosphere. Cool colors are effective with grey paper. Blues, blue grey, cool blacks, deep, cool reds and dark greens work well for limited pallets or monochromes.

Grey and tan toned papers.

- 71 -

Proceedings of the 29th Annual Goat Field Day, Langston University, April 26, 2014

Watercolor paperWatercolor paper can be useful not only for the watercolorist but also for watercolor pencils. Cold pressed

140 lb paper is a good choice as it will not wrinkle with light paint applications. Hot press 90 lb paper will buckle a bit but is useful because it seems better for details when sketching and painting small drawings. Bristol board

Bristol paper is smooth and works well for a variety of media. Used with graphite, it has the advantage of making darker marks with harder grade pencils. This is convenient because softer pencils can easily smear if fixative is not used regularly in the sketchbook.

Bristol is a good choice for colored pencil if you prefer dense painterly layers of color. It is idea for pen and ink and also work as well for small watercolors and multi-media applications.Sketchbooks

Keep several sketchbooks handy and select one or more that are appropriate to the media that will be used. Individual sketchbooks can also be used for individual subjects. I keep one sketchbook just for use in state parks that I frequently visit.

It is very useful to make your own sketchbooks with paper that suits your needs. Often favorite papers are not available in sketchbook formats. Several kinds of paper can be bound into a single book. When traveling, I make a sketchbook special to the trip. It may contain a selection of watercolor paper, tan and grey toned paper, bristol board drawing paper and scratch paper which can be useful for trying colors and mixing painter. Select papers and cut them to any size that is suitable. Save old sketchbook backs or other rigid cardboard to use for a back on you home-made sketchbook. Use bristol or other heavy paper for a cover. It can be decorated or labeled to indicate the purpose or what is in the book.

If you like crafting you may bind the papers into a book or what is easier, take them to a copy shop or office store and have them bound. Spiral binding works well however, other options exist.

Pencils and PensPen and pencils available for sketching are numerous, try as many as you can. A change of pencil or media

on occasion can spark your creativity and interest in sketching. You will often be pleased with the results.Graphite pencils

In general, the humble graphite pencil works as well as anything. Pencil hardness selected can depend on the paper you choose to use. I tend to use 4H-4B on bristol board, although 2H and HB leads will often provide a sufficient tonal range. Use softer leads in the range of HB to 9B on sketch or drawing papers. Softer leads, 2B to 9B make the darkest marks however, softer leads also require fixatives to prevent smearing. Soft leads can add a lot of expressive texture and sparkle to sketches and are often used to that purpose.

Sketchbooks of various size and kinds of paper.

- 72 -


A large diameter lead with a blunted or chisel shaped point can be prefer-able to a finely sharpened or small diameter lead. Large, blunt leads discourage fuss-ing over small details when sketching rapidly or when initial marks are being made. The chisel point is useful because the flat part of the point can be used for broad strokes, the edge is used for fine strokes. Make the chisel tip by holding the pencil at a natural drawing angle and rubbing the tip to an angled, flattened edge on a piece of sand paper, rough drawing paper or even a convenient stone.

The woodless, solid graphite pencil offers the most versatility of any pencil design. The advantages of the chisel tip on a pencil are combined with the ability to create large swaths of tone with the side of the pencil.

Some artists prefer a mechanical 0.05 mm pencil for sketching as it does not require sharpening. Disad-vantages include lack of stroke variability, smaller hardness range, and more likely to cause excess fussiness with the drawing. That said, it is convenient to use for detailing an initial sketch with a larger pencil or for water colors.

Colored pencils of many types are excellent for sketching. Faber Castell, Prismacolor and Derwent all make colored pencils well suites for field sketching. Some companies also have specialty drawing pencils I like to use large diameter, soft drawing pencils in earth tone colors for much of my sketching.

Watercolor pencils behave much like regular colored pencils but can be washed over with a brush and water to create watercolors. Watercolor pencils are excellent tools for sketching, their only disadvantage is that they are not waterproof. If you are likely to get rain or water splattered, they may not be the best choice for that day’s use.Pens

Pens are good sketching tools. They cannot be erased and so force the artist to judge carefully where lines are to be placed. They equally lend themselves to a loose, style of sketching. Pen selection is a

Sketching pencil selection. A - colored pencil. B - Watercolor pencil. C - Soft drawing pencil. D - Water-soluble graphite pencil. E - Graphitint pencil. F - Woodless graphite pencil.

Sketching pens. A - fountain sketch pen. B - Permanent fiber tip pen. C - Watersoluble roller ball.

- 73 -


personal choice. I favor fiber tipped permanent pens and roller ball pens with water soluble ink. Water soluble pens will create water color-like wash effects when wetted with a paint brush.

Use permanent pens when water color or water color pencil will be used to color the finished sketch.

Colored inks can also lend an expressive note to field sketches. Sepia works particularly well with tan or cream colored papers. Blue and red inks look good with grey paper.

Bring a spare pen because you never know when they might run out of ink.Drawing board

Unless you are using large or loose sheets of paper, a drawing board is not usually necessary. If you do use one be sure to bring large rubber bands, tape or bull dog clips to keep the paper in place, especially if it is a windy day. The board should be light and portable.Watercolor sketch box and other tools

A small watercolor sketch box can be used for sketching or for adding color to drawings made with other media. Small ones such as the Windsor Newton Compact or the Van Gogh traveling box are ideal for most purposes. They provide room for plenty of colors and areas for mixing paint.

I prefer to replace some of the pans of paint with personal choices and change them occasionally to try various color combinations.

The small plastic pans can be divided with a thin piece of plastic to increase the number of paints the box will hold. Cut a strip of plastic to size from a triangular guitar pick, bread wrapper fastener or other bit of thin plastic. Glue into the pan or easier, use a small bit of Blu-tac® or other brand of sticky wall fastener putty. This is useful to do with paints that are infrequently used but desirable to have along with you.Water bottle

A water bottle will be neces-sary to use water color while sketching. I prefer a plastic, 200 ml vodka bottle. Its flat shape packs easily into a bag and the size is sufficient for most small sketches likely to be done in the field. It can be used as a drinking water bottle as well although you 200 ml water bottle.

Watercolor sketch of a Boer goat.

Small watercolor sketch boxes.

- 74 -


may receive interested glances from onlookers.Brushes

Bring one or two inexpensive brushes. Travel sized brushed work well. You can cut down the handles of regular brushes to make your own custom travel brushes.

I prefer number 4 and number 8 round synthetic brushes and a 3/8 inch flat bristle brush for

travel sketching. The bristle brush is used for stippling tree leaves and making grasses.A waterbrush is also very useful not only for water color but also water color pencil. It can replace all

other brushes for most sketching purposes.

Miscellaneous itemsA small plastic eye dropper works well for making

small washes of color. A collapsible 5 ounce cup filled from your water bottle

is also convenient for rinsing brushes.Carrying bagA shoulder bag of some kind is useful for carrying and organizing your materials. A shoulder bag is especially useful while traveling as other daily necessaries can be carried along with your art supplies.Sharpeners and erasers

A pencil sharpener or small knife is necessary for maintaining a proper point on most drawing tools. It is easy to forget to pack them when you go to the field. For that reason I keep at least one sharpener in every bag that I carry.

Erasing while sketching slows down the whole drawing process and leads to fussiness. The old saying “ Do not let the perfect become the enemy of the good” comes to mind. Rather than erase, just re-state the lines over the top of the old ones or start another drawing if you must.

Begin initial lines very lightly and darken them as the drawing takes shape. Drawings that look “bad” in the moment can look better when viewing them the next day.

Erasers are more useful for cleaning smears from the paper or when doing finished drawings. Use a very soft, rectangular, soft plastic or vinyl eraser for cleaning the paper. A stick or pen shaped eraser works well for general line erasing and for erasing white lines into a toned drawing.

Small watercolor brushes. A - 3/8 inch flat bristle brush. B - No. 4 tsable ravel brush. C - No. 8 synthetic round brush. D - Medium sized round waterbrush.

Plastic eye dropper.

Field bag for sketching supplies.

- 75 -


Paper towelsA few paper towels are often useful for various

watercolor techniques and to clean your hands or pencils.Large plastic sack

A large garbage bag is portable and has many uses. It can be spread on the ground to protect clothing from dirt and damp. It can also cover your sketchbook in a rain shower or be cut into a makeshift rain coat.Plastic bag

A small ziplock bag can be used to carry pencil sharpening waste, or used wet paper towels.Folding Chair

Use a light folding chair for extended drawing periods. It is usually more comfortable than sitting on the ground. Personal items

Always take a hat to shade your eyes and protect yourself from the sun. Sunglasses, bug spray, drinking water and snacks are also items that are often welcome.

Be prepared for the weather. It can become chilly when you are in one position for a long time as you sketch. On any sunny day, winter or summer, sunburn is a possibil-ity. Winds can make mild weather uncomfortably cold with hypothermia a possibility. Try finger less gloves for cold weather sketching. Bring plenty of water to avoid dehydration in the summer.

Watch out for thunderstorms and severe weather. Light-ning can strike long before a storm is directly overhead.

CameraA camera is useful for recording lighting conditions that you wish to incorporate into your drawings at a

later time. It can be used to record details of animals and the landscape. Cameras are also useful for taking notes on color for future drawings or paintings.

Photos are often used for examining common animal poses and for practice drawing these poses. I use a digital zoom camera as a pair of binoculars. Difficult areas can be photographed while sketching. Details can emerge with much more clarity and quickly viewed or enlarged further on the back of the camera.

When used with photo enhancing software and a printer, digital photos can be enlarged or pieces from several photos combined to produce pleasing composi-tions for subsequent art work.Go light

Keep materials to a manageable size and quantity. A hundred pencils spilled in the grass can become awkward to manage, although many people do enjoy the color selection. In most circumstances a single pen or a few pencils and small

Erasers. A - Soft plastic. B - Triangular pen style. C - Round Pen style. D Small round pen style.

Pencil sharpeners.

Folding camp stool.

- 76 -


sketchbook are all that is required. These materials can be kept in a purse or small travel bag that is conve-nient to carry.

LocationChoose a location for drawing that allows observation of the goats from a useful distance. If you are too

close, the curious goats will be helping themselves to your art supplies. If too far away you will not be able to see them well enough to draw. I like to be across the fence from the goats in an area where the goats are likely to remain long enough to make drawings. An area near a watering trough, hay or feed trough works well.

Shade is often welcome but not always available to the artist so do not forget your hat.Consider sun and shadow on your subjects. In general, it is usually best to avoid flat lighting such as all

shade or a grey, cloudy day if possible. Morning and evening light provide the best contrasting shadows and highlights. Sketching during these

times of day also avoids times of peak sun intensity and the heat of the day which is often necessary in the summer months.

Barns and stalls can work during inclement weather. However, lighting may not be idea in these circumstances.

Basic Shapes of the GoatGoats are generally observed in a limited number of poses, the most common being front, rear, side and

lying down. Some combination of these are observed and the head and neck can be in various positions. Each position has a common shape that can help rapidly build the basic structure of the goat. It is often unneces-sary to draw feet on goats in pasture because the grass covers them.

It is helpful to familiar-ize yourself with basic goat anatomy at home or as you draw goats. Practice and repeti-tion are always the best ways to improve your work. Some may find it helpful to draw from photographs initially to gain an understanding of basic shape. Observe the skeleton shown below and note how the bones relate to what is seen on the surface of the goat. Hind legs and neck length are problem areas for some artists. Anatomical study can clarify these structures. Pelvic bones can be prominent, particularly on thin goats and produce shadow areas as does the shoulder.

Decide the basic shape of the animal before beginning Skeletal anatomy of the goat.

- 77 -


the drawing. Use this geometric structure as a starting point to which other features can be added depending on the angle from which the goat is observed.Side view - square • The side view of the goat is square shaped. A line hori-zontally placed through the square is approximately the location of the chest floor and abdomen. • The front shoulders and legs can be thought of as a narrow, elongated triangle.• The head and neck also each fit into triangles. Observe neck length compared to head and body length.• Give attention to the hind legs, particularly the back edge. This area often causes trouble when drawing the goat. Note where the hind leg crosses the abdomen and its relationship with the udder. • Adjust the contours of the back and stomach. The hip bone is commonly visible and should be placed in the sketch. Don’t forget the tail.

Side view of a goat showing how the body fits into a square.

Blocking in the initial drawing with a geometric shape.

A quick sketch started with a divided square.

- 78 -


Rear view - rectangleThe rear view is rectangular in basic shape. Legs may appear as elon-gated triangular shapes within the rectangle. The horseshoe shape also works for a rear view of many goats.

Front view - horseshoe shape• The front view can be thought of as a horseshoe shaped rectangle with the curve on the upper edge.• Dividing the rectangle in half will locate the chest floor. • The neck attaches near the chest floor at the lower edge and the shoulder girdle on the upper edge. If the head is up the shoulder attachment will not be seen. If the head is in a grazing position, the lower attachment point may be hidden. • The neck is triangular in shape.• The head will appear as a triangular shape.

Rectangle and polygon describing the rear view shape of a goat.

Horseshoe shape describes the front view of a goat.

A double horseshoe shape fits a goat from an angled view point.

- 79 -


Lying down from front or rear - triangle• The rear or front view of the goat as it lies in the field resembles a rounded triangle. • Note how hip bones may protrude.• Legs may not be visible.

Lying down from the side - rectangle• Draw as in the side view of the goat except that legs may not be visible.• The spine may be humped or curved.• The head is usually erect.

Fast Sketching Techniques• The best fast sketching technique is regular practice and familiarity with the subject. However there are some methods that speed the learning process. Make mistakes!

Give yourself permission to fail miserably! Sketches we make are not likely to hang in a museum. No one need ever see them. You can destroy them if you like however, it is valuable to look at old drawings to note progress and changes in your art work over time. I hesitate to say improvement because it is such a subjective judgement in art. Keep drawing until you are pleased. Even though the goal posts tend to move in different directions over time.Do not excessively restate lines

Do not get into the habit of restating lines, even misplaced ones, repeatedly. One confident mark is sufficient. If it is not correct to your satisfaction, try another on top of it. Remember to make initial lines light.Do not criticize yourself while drawing

Do not use critical language while sketching such as “This looks bad”. Instead say things like “This line needs to be more curved”. Better yet, think very little to yourself and just draw. Relax and enjoy the whole process. Be amazed at what you have put to paper. No one else can draw like you do. Its like your handwriting. Drawing is fun for its own sake regardless of the out come. Its not a competition.

A goat lying down fits into a triangular shape.

Goats lying down fit into a rectangle.

Mass shading is a rapid way to draw over all form.

- 80 -


Draw quicklyThe faster you draw, the less time your rational mind has to get in the way. Analyze later. Look at the subject much more than your drawing. Try drawing as you are looking at the goat, glancing

at the paper only infrequently.Mass

Artists with a more painterly temperament may prefer mass drawing technique as they sketch. This is similar what is done with a paint brush. Start in the center of the goat and shade in until the shaded outline looks about like a goat. Refine the shape after a general mass is constructed. A square crayon is a good tool for this technique.

GestureThis technique uses a minimum of lines to express the essence

of a subject. State the most important lines first. These lines should express the motion and inner tension of the subject. The back and neck are good places to begin. Get the curve of the hind legs and shadows of underlying muscle mass with a few well placed lines.Start several drawings

Start several drawings in different poses when sketching active animals. The animal will return to common poses and more can be added to each sketch as the animals’ movement allows. This method works best with larger sketchbooks. It is inconvenient and wastes time to continually flip through pages looking for the right drawing to work on. Concentrate on one body part and its connections with the rest of the animal

If drawing the entire animal seems too intimidating in the begin-ning, it can be helpful to break the structure of the animal down into more easily drawn parts. The tail is a good starting point. Include its attachment to the rear of the animal.

The head and neck may seem more difficult so just draw the square body of the goat until it becomes more comfortable.

These suggestions should get the novice drawing in the field with the least hinderance. Remember to pack light, have a small drawing kit with you when-ever you go out and use it frequently. The more you draw the more comfortable and rewarding it will become.

A few gesture lines are enough to portrait most subjects.

Draw several sketches of a single body part to begin to understand the struc-ture of the goat.

- 81 -


mr. kenneth williams science illustration and …. kenneth williams science illustration and graphic...

Documents